Welcome to the BAU
by River Constantine
Summary: This is the first story in a series. Mainly an intro to my own original character, but there is some plot included. Total of three chapters in this story. Enjoy! Rated for Chapter 3, some vague adult themes. Reid/OC centered, but no romance, yet
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, other than River Constantine. I am not making money from these stories. I like writing and this is a terrific distraction for me._

Welcome to the Team

_**Chapter One**_

"Alright, team, listen up!" SSA Aaron Hotchner said loudly. The team was getting settled, having just arrived for the day.

"What? Do we have a case?" Derek Morgan asked.

"No. Not yet anyway. JJ is looking over files we have received, though. We're going to meet in the conference room at 9:30 am. Right now, I just need to let you all know we are getting a new addition to the team. She should be here in around 15 minutes." Hotchner paused, trying t gauge his team's reactions. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he continued. "She just transferred from one of the child safety teams. Mainly, my bosses believe we could use her. She's smart and good at her job. Apparently, she is also skilled at getting information from suspects through casual conversation."

"In other words, she is manipulative," Emily Prentiss stated. It wasn't a question. She knew Hotch wouldn't outright say the new team member was manipulative.

"Well, she should be here any minute. So, on with the show. Her name is Dr. River Constantine. She has PhD's in Psychology, Biology and Mathematics. Also, her file says she is experienced with weapons and hand to hand combat," Hotch paused, noticing that Dr. Reid was no longer paying attention. "Reid?" he asked, hoping to get an explanation for the strange behavior. Dr. Spencer Reid was always paying attention, even if most people didn't notice that he was.

Reid looked up, embarrassed he had been caught. He had been thinking, not that it was strange for him to be thinking. After all, he was a genius. Thing is, River was a genius too. Her IQ was 182. Not as high as his, but still high. She also had an eidetic memory, like him, and to top it all off, they were born on the exact same day. He had gone to college with her. She was the only person, other than his mother, who really knew what it felt like to be him. She understood. And now, they would be working together. Happy didn't really seem to cover what Reid was feeling at that moment. Excited didn't work either. Scared seemed more appropriate. He had had a crush on her during under-grad, and it didn't go away when they ran into each other while working on their Math PhD's. Yeah, scared pretty much covered it.

*Okay, think! I need to say something. Everyone is looking at me!* Reid tried to make his mouth work. He was very rarely speechless. It has happened before, though, and it was happening again, at that moment.

"Uh, yes, Sir?"

"Something on your mind?" Hotch asked.

"Um, no, not really…"

"Come on, kid. We know. We are profilers, after all. Out with it," Derek prodded.

"It's nothing. I just, um, I know her. We were in college together," Reid said awkwardly.

"Yes, we were. And it got extremely annoying not being the best in the class."

River Constantine had just walked in.

And Spencer Reid's face went from awkward embarrassment to sheer and utter terror in 0.2 seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, other than River Constantine. I am not making money from these stories. I like writing and this is a terrific distraction for me._

_**Chapter Two**_

"Dr. Constantine, I assume," Hotch said, holding out his hand.

"Yes, but please, call me River. I still haven't gotten used to being called Doctor," she replied.

"Welcome. I am SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is SSA David Rossi," Hotch said, gesturing to the slightly older Italian man standing next to him. "And this is SSA's Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, although she prefers JJ, and you already know Dr. Spencer Reid." Hotch finished the introductions, and noticed River quickly nodding to everyone. "I actually just received word last night that you would be starting today. I was letting everyone know about your transfer when you got here."

"It's alright. I didn't get the call about the transfer until late yesterday afternoon. I was surprised they wanted me to start so soon," River explained. Hotch could tell there was something else, but she was extremely good at masking what she was thinking. River saw that he was watching, and continued, "I didn't even request the transfer. I have wanted to work in the BAU for a while, but the call caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting it. I didn't think there was a position available now, so it was a little confusing."

"Understandable. Well, we should get you settled. I'll go get you new ID, as well as your service weapon from my office. I understand you are qualified to carry already, but you were working a desk, so there was no real need for a weapon. Am I right?" Hotch asked.

"Yes," River replied.

"Alright. Dave, if you could show her around. I will be right back."

"Absolutely," Rossi said, smiling.

While Hotchner was away retrieving the ID and gun, Agent Rossi showed River her desk the conference room, the break room (especially the coffee area), and finished by pointing to where his and Hotch's offices were.

The entire time, River could feel eyes following her everywhere she went. She remembered that feeling from college. Apparently, young Dr. Reid was still infatuated with her.

After all the formalities, everyone was finally able to sit and get to work. River sat at her new desk, which was right next to Reid's, and started looking over the papers Agent Hotchner had given her.

Thirty minutes later, the team was gathered in the conference room, and Derek was explaining the stranger's presence to Penelope Garcia, whose face was up on the TV screen on the wall.

"Oh, okay. Well, you guys better behave then. Now, there are two doctors in there with you. So glad I get to sit all the way over here with just my computers."

"Hey, you are the one who needs to behave!" Derek retorted, mock insult all over his face.

"Okay, people, let's get to work. JJ?" Hotch interjected, with a small, almost unnoticeable smile on his face.

The team spent the rest of the work day going over cases with which the investigators had requested their help. Nothing was too difficult; they were able to just write up some tips and points for the various cases to send back to the investigators. Nothing really required their presence. At least, not yet.

By the time 5:30 pm rolled around, everyone was ready to get out of the building. Hotch came up to River as she was putting some things in her messenger bag.

"One last thing for today," he started. "We have a tradition on this team. When we get a new member, the team goes to dinner on the first day. Which means, you have plans for dinner. Come on, I think we are all pretty much starving."

River was surprised, but also grateful. She really didn't want to spend her first night here eating take-out on the floor of her empty apartment. Until she saw the look on Spencer's face. He seemed apprehensive, almost a little wary.

Walking out of the building, and over to Emily's car, River was really hoping dinner went well. Reid had never looked like that in all the times she had seen him, and that scared her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, other than River Constantine. I am not making money from these stories. I like writing and this is a terrific distraction for me._

_**Chapter Three**_

Everyone had their own car, except River and Reid. River rode over to the restaurant with Emily, while Reid rode with Morgan.

At first, Emily seemed slightly uncomfortable with the new girl, unsure of what to talk about. She didn't know what River was interested in, or what kind of hobbies the young genius would have. After a few minutes, both women had gotten to their breaking point.

"So…"

"Well…"

Both of the agents had started talking at the same time, causing them to start laughing.

"As much as I hate small talk, the silence is killing me," River said between giggles.

"Same here. I realized when we got in the car that I didn't really know anything about you other than the stuff Hotch had told us before you arrived. I mean, I don't even know what city you were in before you got transferred."

"I was at the office in Buffalo, NY. I'm actually glad to get to live somewhere with less snow. Even with my IQ, I am probably the worst driver in all of Virginia. I have a car, but it normally just sits there. I would rather walk through feet of snow, than have to deal with other drivers."

"Really?" Emily asked, laughing again. "Apparently, Spencer is a terrible driver, too. Maybe it is actually _because_ of your IQ…"

"Might be," River agreed. "So, where are we going?"

"This little seafood place. I can never remember the name, but it's only a couple more blocks."

"Oh, okay." River looked out the car window, and was surprised. "Hey, we are actually pretty close to my apartment. It's only a mile or so west of here."

"Really? Reid's apartment is in this area, too. He picked the area because of the buses. They go straight to the office. He has a car, and he will drive to work if there is an emergency or something, but on a normal day, he takes the bus." Emily was smiling, in a "this could be fun" kind of way.

"It would be a little scary if I ended up in the same complex as him. I really just signed for the first one I found that wasn't too far from headquarters." River was actually getting unnerved. There were only two complexes in this area, and it was highly probable she and Reid were living in the same one. *At least,* she thought, *the numbers are against me.*

They had just pulled into a parking spot, and Morgan was pulling in right next to them. Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Garcia were standing at the door into the restaurant.

River and Emily got out of the car, and were walking to the door with Derek and Reid. Emily glanced at River and then at Reid and smiled. *That doesn't look good,* Reid thought. *What were they talking about?*

The team walked into the restaurant together, and was at their table in less than two minutes. Their server came up and asked what everyone wanted to drink. They ordered one by one going around in the circle of the table, starting with Hotch.

"I'll have a Jack and Coke."

"Frozen margarita, no salt," Rossi said.

"Pina Colada," JJ requested.

"Same, please," Garcia said, laughing.

"Scotch," Derek ordered.

"Strawberry daiquiri," Emily said.

The server was now looking over at River, the next in the circle. *They don't know… I could if I wanted to…* she thought.

Reid could tell she was uncomfortable, and he knew she used to drink in excess during college. He didn't know if she still drank or anything, but she was definitely uneasy, and he thought he knew why. He reached over, under the table, and placed his hand on her knee, squeezing gently.

"I'll have coffee with cream and a water, please," she said, without thinking any more. The second his hand touched her knee, she knew she couldn't get away with it. Not with Spencer sitting right next to her. He remembered. He obviously remembered.

"I'll have the same," Reid said, without moving his hand. River looked over at him, right into his eyes. She could see it in his eyes; he knew.

Spencer could tell she was trying to say *thank you*, without actually voicing the words. He nodded, and moved his hand to his lap.

The rest of dinner went by, with a lot of laughing and smiling, in part because Emily couldn't help herself, and brought up the apartment situation. River and Spencer were in the same complex; they were actually right next to each other.

As everyone was making their way to their respective cars, Hotch asked is River and Reid wanted a ride home.

"I think we're good. It's only a few blocks. We'll be fine," Reid answered.

"Are you sure?" Derek asked.

"Ya, we can walk. It's okay," River responded.

"Alright. Well, take care, and we'll see you two in the morning," Hotch said, and everyone else walked to their cars, and drove off.

Dr. Spencer Reid and Dr. River Constantine started off down the road in silence. It wasn't until they turned onto the next road that the silence was broken.

"So, how long has it been?" Spencer asked.

"Since?" she responded, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Since you drank or used," he stated, matter of factly.

Her stomach dropped. She knew this was coming, though, after what had happened at the beginning of dinner.

"Five months off of morphine, and 30 days off alcohol," she said weakly.

"That's good. I know it is probably hard, but you can always talk to me, if you need to. Just remember that, okay?" Reid was hesitant to let her know just how much he understood, but he wanted to help her.

"Okay."

Reid decided to keep his own issues to himself, at least for right now. He didn't see how telling her would help matters right now. It couldn't hurt, so he chose to stay in his comfort zone.

"Well, home sweet home," Reid said, as they were walking up to their doors.

"Ya."

They each walked into their own their own apartment and shut the doors.

Reid spent the rest of the night worrying about River. He knew the look she had as they walked home. He had had that look 8 months ago, when he had 10 months clean from the Dilaudid, and he was struggling. He knew that look. He knew it meant that she was seriously considering giving in to the desires. He also knew, though, that he wouldn't be able to stop her unless she wanted to stop, but that thought didn't keep him from worrying.

River spent the rest of the night trying to convince herself that going to the corner store and buying the hardest form of alcohol they sold was not a good thing to do. She didn't want to drink, but for some reason which she couldn't explain, she felt like she needed to drink. She was happy here. She liked her new teammates. She was in the same city as her best friend again. And her best friend was literally one wall away. They hadn't talked in ages, but she had never been able to talk to someone the way they did before, and she never would have admitted that she was trying to clean herself up to any other person in the world. *So, why do I want to drink?* she questioned herself.

They both spent the entire night, tossing and turning, lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them really ever fell asleep, knowing that the other was right next door, but not wanting to bother them.

River's first day on the team was over. Her second day, the one where she would actually feel like a part of the team the entire time, was due to start in a couple of hours, and River was still sitting on the floor, wrapped in a sleeping bag, doing everything she could to not start crying.


End file.
